Martha Alter (8 February 1904 – 3 June 1976) was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, music teacher and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Life and career

Martha Alter was born in New Bloomfield,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, to parents David Boyd and Daisy Myrl Alter. She graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1925. Alter continued her studies, receiving a master's in musicology from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and a master's of music composition from

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

, studying with Ernest Hutcheson,

Rubin Goldmark Rubin Goldmark (August 15, 1872 – March 6, 1936) was an American composer, pianist, and educator.Perlis, ''New Grove Dictionary of American Music'', v. II, p. 239 Although in his time he was an often-performed American nationalist composer, his ...

, Howard Hanson and

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

. She taught at Vassar College from 1929-1931 and took a position teaching music at Connecticut College in 1942. She died in Newport, Pennsylvania, and her papers are housed at the

Libraries.

Works

Selected compositions include: *''O Bethlehem'' *''Peace'' *''Bill George'', march and song for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, poem by

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

*''Anthony Cotnstock'' or ''A Puritan's Progress'',

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

*''Groceries and Notions'', drama with Gertrude Brown, book by K.K. Doughtie

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alter, Martha 1904 births 1976 deaths 20th-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century women composers